Fall 2011 - Presbyterian Homes & Services

The Heart of
the North Woods
Heartwood resident, Elynn Niles, dedicates her time,
talent and treasure to benefit her community.
Elynn in the
garden she
planted in
memory of
David and their
son, Scott.
Elynn Niles and her husband
David had long planned to
build a cabin “up north” to
live in when they retired.
“We didn’t have to build
it,” said Elynn. “We came to
Heartwood instead. This is
our North Woods cabin.” They
arrived August 2009, shortly
after Heartwood opened.
“We fell in love with the place
the minute we walked through
the door,” Elynn remembers.
“It’s so beautiful here.”
Elynn looks out the windows of her
Terrace apartment to the tree-lined
walking path that circles a pond. She
enjoys the solitude of the community and
its proximity to nature where deer wander
out of the pine forest and into her view.
Within steps from Elynn’s patio door is a
perennial garden that she and a neighbor
planted and tend. A bench and sign let
others know that the garden is in memory
of David and their son, Scott.
David passed away in July 2010, 12 days after
being diagnosed with cancer. His memorial
service was the first held in Heartwood’s
Conference Center. Military honors were
performed across the lawn by a veterans’
rifle squad, and the Heartwood community
wrapped its arms around Elynn to comfort
her. “Everybody was wonderful,” she said.
“There isn’t anyone here who hasn’t lost
someone close to them. So they understand
and surrounded me with support and
encouragement.”
Scott, their only child, passed away just two
years before his father. Scott had cerebral
palsy and throughout his 39 years needed
their full-time support. “He was our joy and
blessing,” said Elynn. When he was 21, Scott
moved into a group home 3 miles from the
Farmstead, a PHS community in Andover,
MN. Elynn and David moved into a cottage
at the Farmstead in 2005 to simplify their
lives and be near Scott. “We had only our
son and no other family for support,” Elynn
deduced. “The Farmstead brought us near
our son and had the support we needed
for years to come.” While they lived at The
Farmstead, David and Elynn called on Kent
Osterman, Presbyterian Homes Foundation
Development Director, to establish a
charitable gift annuity to support the future
work of PHS.
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FALL 2011